Trust
by Rhadeya
Summary: While in England, chasing leads connected with the drugs ring he's infiltrating back home, a chance encounter leads Jack into another bad day... and a little romance... [post Seas 2, pre season 3[Please R&R]


_**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything to do with 24, wish I did lol I'm doing this for fun, so please don't sue :) I do own all original characters and situations, so please don't use them without permission._

_**Author's Notes**: This one is set between seasons 2 and 3. My apologies if the origin of the heroin addiction is explained in season 3 or 4, haven't seen them yet. This is my take on how it happened, done in true 24 style of an hour per chapter :)_

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**6am – 7am**

_6am_

The night sky was just beginning to lighten, casting strange shadows in the false dawn, the rising of the sun still more than an hour away. A solitary car wound its way down an empty street, the falling rain making the tarmac slick beneath the worn tyres. The vehicle's only occupant hummed quietly to himself, listening to an 80s song on the radio and tapping his fingers lightly against the steering wheel in time with the beat of the song. He knew every chord being played, every word being sung, and smiled to himself. He knew that if Kim, his daughter, could see him at that moment, she would roll her eyes in mock exasperation and sigh. Her sighs could convey more than a thousand words could ever express, and she had a wide range of them, yet she seemed to have a special one which she saved for him. That sigh, combined with the roll of her eyes, said quite clearly _'Dad, don't be so sad! You're embarrassing me!' _and she had used it ever since she was five years old. He glanced at the small LED clock on the dashboard, noting that the small glowing letters marked the time as 6:02am. He'd been driving since 2am and he was still a long way from his destination. The rain was making driving a little more interesting, and the empty road allowed him to relax as he drove. The dark shapes of bare winter trees loomed towards him from the side of the road, filling his mind with thoughts of old ghost stories he'd heard when he was a child.

"I wonder if it ever stops raining here?" he murmured to himself, a slight smile tugging at his lips. He knew the answer already, for the last time he'd visited England, he'd ended up with a dose of sunburn to take home with him. But it was winter now, and the rain just added to the dark and mysterious feel of the landscape around him.

_6:06am_

The rain continued to fall, running in small rivulets down her face as Serena walked slowly along the side of the empty road. She was completely soaked, as the rain had seeped through every layer she wore. She wondered idly how long it would take until it managed to seep through her skin as well, but she pushed such silly thoughts from her head and tried to conjure happier images into her mind. Anything to try and take her mind off the miserable weather and the stabbing pain which shot through her every time she put weight on her right leg. She knew the ankle was broken, and suspected the shin probably was as well, but she couldn't risk going to hospital for treatment. Too many questions would be asked, but she couldn't answer them... and she wasn't willing to die for the secret she carried. Suddenly she stopped, the uneasy feeling of being watched making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and sending a shiver down her spine. Her watcher wasn't human, yet she knew only too well what was watching her from the shadows. She'd felt its eyes on her before, knew what it hungered for, for it was the reason she was in her current situation. Running would be pointless, she knew that from painful experience, and in her semi crippled state, it wouldn't take long before the beast caught her. Slowly slipping her hand behind her back, to the sheath hidden beneath her long black coat, she eased a long, curved dagger from its supple leather casing and gripped it tightly.

"_Come on then pretty, take your best shot,"_ she thought, as she unconsciously assumed a fighting stance. It wasn't going to escape her blade again, nor leave her dying on the wild moors and at the mercy of those who had found and exploited her. If she was going to die on this bleak night, she was determined to take the beast with her. Then they'd both be free from being hunted. Her sharp hearing picked up the quiet rustle of leaves beneath large paws as the beast made ready to attack, and she gripped the hilt of her dagger a little tighter. Her muscles tensed as the beast leapt from the bushes, landing silently on the road a few feet ahead of her. It growled deep in its throat, swishing its feline tail from side to side as it regarded her. A small line of white fur on its shoulder about 3 inches in length served as a reminder of the last encounter the sleek panther had had with Serena, it was the only wound she had been able to inflict on it. Tonight, she was better prepared, and would take the big cat with her into the darkness. The panther snarled, its back legs tensed as it readied itself to leap at her but, before it could attack, it stopped suddenly, its gaze drawn to something behind her.

_6:14am_

Jack rubbed his left hand against his neck, fingertips massaging the knots of muscle at the base of his neck in an attempt to ease the ache of the long drive. Suddenly a flash of movement caught his attention and his mouth dropped open in surprise at the scene his headlights were illuminating. At the side of the road ahead, a slender figure stood facing a creature which Jack could only describe as a panther. The animal was tensed to attack, yet its attention had been distracted by the approach of his vehicle. Its yellow eyes flashed angrily in the light from his headlights and, snarling at the rain drenched figure, it spun around and leapt away into the bushes. He slammed his foot onto the brake pedal, skidding to a halt beside the stranger on the roadside. Ignoring the rain, he jumped out of the car and ran around to the other side, his hand lightly clasping the slender, wet arm.

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking at the exhausted face of a young woman. Serena tore her gaze away from the bushes where the beast had made its escape and looked at her 'rescuer'. She nodded slowly, too tired and angry to speak. Jack noticed that she was leaning to her left slightly and, before he could change his mind or she could protest, he gently but firmly steered her towards the car, not missing the wince of pain as she put weight on her injured leg. Opening the passenger door, he helped her get into the vehicle, then made his way back around the car and hopped back in, glad to be out of the pouring rain.

"Where ya headed?"

"To Plymouth," Serena answered simply, her voice quiet.

"So am I, but I'm taking you to the hospital first." It wasn't a suggestion, it was a statement of fact.

"No! No hospital. Please..." she didn't know how to explain that what should be a place of safety was anything but. "If you could just drop me off at the city limits, that'd be really great." Her voice told him she was hiding something, but he didn't want to press her about it.

"OK, no hospital. But at least let me take you wherever it is that you're going?" Jack suggested, his tone gentle. He saw her slow nod and nodded in response.

"Just head for the city, I'll direct you when we get there," she acquiesced, slumping back against the car seat gratefully. He nodded his agreement, although he had an uneasy feeling that things were not going to be that simple tonight.

_6:32_

The rain continued to fall heavily as a black BMW came to a halt at the same spot where Jack had stopped recently. Two men, dressed in black trousers and white shirts, climbed out of the vehicle and examined the skid marks on the road, then moved to the spot where Serena had been standing.

"I've got blood, not much left though," the younger man told his companion. The older man said nothing as he examined the evidence, taking a few steps forward as he spotted the remains of the paw prints which the panther had left behind.

"Sativa was here as well. It looks as if she has not lost Serena's scent, even after all this time."

"Stephen, how are we going to find her? If she reaches the city, she'll be gone. We both know how good she is at disappearing when she doesn't want to be found," the younger man asked, looking at his companion.

"Even if she does manage to _'get lost'_ Mark, I will find her. We cannot allow her to expose us, not when we are so close to completion!" Stephen replied, his voice calm. "Besides, if we cannot find her, Sativa will find her for us..."

_6:44_

Jack glanced at the woman slumped in the passenger seat beside him, concerned that he should be taking her for medical care, not dropping her in a big city on her own. She hadn't said anything except her name in the half hour they'd been driving, yet a gamut of emotions had run across her face during that time. The most obvious was pain, but underlying it was fear and a deep sadness. Although she appeared to be about 23 years old, her eyes were those of someone much older, as if she had seen things which had aged her before her time.

"You don't have anywhere to go, do you?" Jack asked suddenly, breaking the silence in the car. Without warning, he slowed down and pulled into a lay-by at the side of the road, turning to face her when the car had come to a stop. She turned to look at him, fear and pain etched on her face.

"No, I don't," she confessed. "But when we get to the city, I can just disappear." She gave him a sad smile, as she leant heavily against her seat.

"What do you mean, disappear? How?"

"I'll just drop off the radar, become another of the nameless, invisible lost soul among the rest of the homeless population of the city."

"And wind up junkie, stealing or selling your body so you can get your next fix?" The question was a harsh one, but one that he had to know the answer to.

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "But one day they'll find a body, another Jane Doe in an unmarked grave with no-one to mourn her." There was no sadness in her words as she spoke, just a strange, vague hint of longing that tore at Jack's soul.

"So you're going to kill yourself? Why? Why just give up and die?"

"You really don't understand, do you?" she laughed hollowly. "I'm dead already! I've been dead for the past four years, my body just hasn't caught on yet!"

"You're right Serena, I don't understand!" Jack shot back, his tone angry and confused. "Why don't you explain it to me? Cos you sure as hell don't look dead to me!"

"I'm a dangerous person to be around, Jack. Just by being in this car, I'm putting your life at risk." Her eyes told him the truth to her words, but something about her made him dismiss the threat as he slowly reached out and placed his hand beneath her chin, raising her head so she her eyes met his.

"My life has been at risk before, and I've no doubt it will be again. But I'm not about to let an innocent person lose their life, no matter how much they may want to die."

"Jack..." she began, wanting to make him realise how much of a risk she was, but he cut her off before she could say another word.

"I've got a hotel booked in the city. You're gonna stay with me until we can figure out how to deal with whatever is putting you at risk. But," he held up his hand to stop her as she was about to protest. "You're gonna have to tell me what's going on, ok?"

"OK," she agreed, after a long pause. "But when you know everything, when you know how dangerous it is to be around me, you have to let me disappear if it can't be taken care of, ok?" Her eyes held his, pleading with him to agree. After several moments, he nodded his head slowly and she sank back against the seat in relief. "We need to keep moving, to get to the hotel as soon as possible. Then I'll explain everything."

_6:58_

"We know Serena is heading for Plymouth. There are tyre marks on the road, which suggest someone stopped, possibly to help her during her confrontation with Sativa. It would appear that she may have accepted a lift from that person, as there were no signs of serious blood loss," Stephen said, his tone still calm as he spoke into his cell phone.

"Do you think she'll tell her new friend about our operation?" asked the voice on the other end.

"No sir, I do not believe she would have any reason to do so," he answered truthfully. "It is my belief that she will get the driver to drop her off somewhere near the city limits, and head towards the city centre. We know she has contacts within the small time criminal circles, and I know most of the locations they use."

"Bring her back alive, Stephen. I'll leave it to your discretion as to how alive, just make sure she's still breathing."

"Of course, Sir," Stephen replied, closing the phone and slipping it back into his pocket. He glanced at the dashboard, making sure that Mark was keeping to the speed limits so that they would not attract the attention of the local police. "When we get there, head towards the city centre."

"The underpasses?" Mark enquired, glancing at his companion.

"Yes, why not. It seems as good a place as any to start our hunt..."

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_Tick, tock, tick, tock. End of the first hour :)_


End file.
